Deeply concerned over deterioration in Palestine, OIC Secretary General calls for a return to Dialogue.

Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference expressed his deep concern over the deteriorated situation witnessed in Palestine over the past few days and called upon the Palestinian leaderships to return to dialogue and to carry through the Makkah and Cairo Agreements and abide by the constitutional law of the Palestinian National Authority, respect legality and safeguard the Palestinian national institutions. The Secretary General also strongly condemned the methods of occupying public service offices through the use of arms to achieve transient benefits and to create a fait-accompli on the ground. The Secretary General called for public institutions to be respected. The Secretary General further appealed to the Palestinian leaders to shoulder their responsibilities before the Palestine people and before history, in preserving the unity of the Palestinian territories and not spoiling the Palestinian rights through internecine strife and to focus their efforts rather on ending the occupation, breaking the blockade, and achieving the national goals for which the Palestinian people have been fighting. The OIC Secretary General had contacts with the Foreign Minister of Malaysia (Chairman of the OIC Summit) and the Foreign Minister of Pakistan (Chairman of the Ministerial Council), and an agreement has been reached to convene the Committee on Palestine in the OIC headquarters on 20.6.2007 to discuss the most recent developments in Palestine.